Evaluation Methods for Friction Materials in a Four-Wheel Drive Drivetrain

Abstract: BorgWarner located in Landskrona are developing components for the four-wheeldrive drivetrain that are being massed produced in the automotive industry. Thanks to Borg- Warner’s unique product’s properties they have achieved a worldwide leading position as a provider of systems for advanced four-wheeldrive drivetrain (all-wheel drivetrain). The assignment from the BorgWarner is to create a better understanding about when vibrations occur and what properties of a friction disc affect vibrations in the wet clutch. The goals of this thesis are to: Map system parameters like Surface topografy. Measure pressure distribution between the friction discs. Measure the Youngs modulus, also known as stiffness. It is not sure that a bad pressure distribution could cause vibrations in the wet clutch. The results from the topography explain the appearance of the pressure distribution. Varying stiffness means that the density of the material is also varying because the stiffness depends on the material composition. When forces are applied on the friction disc, it leads to varying deformation on samples. When the samples all deforms different, the result of the different deformation could be slanting surface. When a disc with non- parallel friction surface rotates it could generate vibration in the wet clutch.